He'll cost just $2.25 million in base salary and could make up to $5 million with incentives, according to CBSSports.com.

Capuano had a strong season with the Dodgers in 2013, when he posted a 4.26 ERA in 105 2/3 innings. According to the advanced metrics, he was even better, posting his highest strikeout-to-walk rate (3.38) since he was an All-Star in 2006. And his xFip, an expected measure of ERA if fielding and ballparks were neutral, was 3.67.

He could be a sixth starter, he could be a long-man, but Capuano provides a veteran pitcher who has pitched less than 1,300 innings in his career (he had Tommy John surgery twice). It also gives time for the young pitchers to develop properly in the minors or pitch out of the bullpen. The Red Sox have always had a patient approach with their prospects and Capuano should allow them to keep that going.

The last time the Red Sox rushed pitchers to the majors was in 2011, when there were no other options and Kyle Weiland was used to start meaningful games down the stretch (Weiland had a 7.22 ERA in 24 2/3 innings).

Peavy on track

Jake Peavy is progressing well from an injury to his ring finger on his pitching hand. He threw his first bullpen session on Thursday and manager John Farrell said he was encouraged. Peavy is expected to ready to go at full strength by the time the season starts.

Stephen who?

General manager Ben Cherington continued to express his faith in Will Middlebrooks. When asked about the possibility of Stephen Drew returning, Cherington said the team was focusing on the players it had. He then offered this optimistic analysis of what the Red Sox expect out of Middlebrooks:

"We felt like the time he spent in Pawtucket (last year), as tough as that was for him, we saw some changes when he came back," Cherington said. "He carried that into the offseason. He had a good offseason. He's in good shape, he's strong, he's getting his work in now. The talent is going to allow Will to be a really good player. He's just got to go about his work every day, get his work in, and that’s what he's doing.

"His career start is not unlike a lot of guys that go onto really good major-league careers. His first 600 plate appearances or whatever, there's a lot of power. He's proven he can play third base. He's certainly not a finished product, and he knows that. But the arrow's pointing up in our estimation."

A thought on home-plate collisions

Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo will travel to Port Charlotte on Sunday for a baseball operations meeting with MLB that will go over the new rules for home plate collisions. Farrell and Cherington have both said they're in favor of the rule changes because they prioritize catchers' health.

"I haven't see the finalized rule, but I think it's silly," he said. "I think I've been run over probably more times than anyone in baseball. I've always seemed to luckily get up from them. I'm a firm believer that if you do it right and you're in the right position and it's a clean play, then you should be OK. I'm all for runners not going out of their way to hit guys, but at the same time, it's part of the game. When you got signed up to be a major league catcher, there's things that come with it – balls in the dirt, foul tips, and getting run over on close plays at the plate."

Pierzynski also joked, "Since we don't want anybody to touch anybody, I think we should just have two home plates, and if the other guy gets to home plate first, maybe the umpire can pull it out of his pocket and unfold it and lay it down."